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Locust Moon Comics Festival’s Halloween Weekend

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Photo by Dan Mazur

The Locust Moon Comic Festival, Philadelphia’s rapidly growing independent comics expo, has announced a star-studded guest list and an expanded slate of programs for its fourth annual event, to be held on Halloween of this year.

The historic Rotunda on Walnut Street will play host to a cross-section of the greatest artists, writers, publishers, designers, and makers in sequential and graphic arts. This year’s guest list includes Bill Sienkiewicz (ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN), Craig Thompson (HABIBI), Chris Claremont (UNCANNY X-MEN), Alexa and Denis Kitchen (KITCHEN SINK PRESS), David Mack (KABUKI), Mark Beyer (AMY + JORDAN), and Noah Van Sciver (FANTE BUKOWSKI).

“For the first time, the festivities will extend for three days across the weekend,” says organizer Chris Stevens. The festival kicks off with an all-star Drink & Draw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, open to the public and led by all of the aforementioned special guests, on Friday night; and following Saturday’s main event, the fun extends through Sunday afternoon with a long pancake brunch for exhibitors. This will be a weekend to remember for artists, authors, and readers alike.

“The intimacy of our festival is what sets it apart from other shows,” says co-runner Josh O’Neill. “What other convention would invite its attendees to have drinks at an art museum with Bill Sienkiewicz and Craig Thompson? It’s not about fans meeting creators and getting books signed. At Locust Moon Comics Festival we all come together as lovers of comics and have a great party.”

The donation-based event on Saturday, October 31 is free to children under 12, and will feature complimentary programming for kids including comic-making workshops, face-painting, and a Halloween costume contest.

Programming throughout Saturday at the Locust Moon store will include a conversation with Chris Claremont, a panel on underground comics featuring Denis Kitchen, Mark Beyer, Pat Aulisio and Noah Van Sciver, an exploration of what it takes to “Draw on Life” with Craig Thompson, Dean Haspiel and Andrea Tsurumi, and a discussion on comics in fine art contexts with Ronald Wimberly, Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack.

More than just a convention, this community-focused event will honor comic creators and their creations, and for one day, break down the barriers between professional creators, passionate fans, aspiring artists, and curious new readers.

Says organizer Stevens, “Locust Moon Fest brings the world of comics to Philadelphia, and the comics of Philadelphia to the world.”

Find further information about the event and more guests on the Locust Moon Comics Festival website (locustmoonfest.com), Facebook (facebook.com/locustmoonfest), and Twitter (twitter.com/locustmoonfest).

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– Schedule of Events –

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
6pm-9pm: Drink & Draw @ Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
11am-6pm: Comics Festival & Kids’ Activities @ The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St)
12pm-6pm: Panels @ Locust Moon Comics store (34 S 40th St)
8pm-???: Halloween/After-Party @ Locust Moon Comics store (34 S 40th St)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1
12pm-3pm: Artists’ Brunch @ Locust Moon Comics store (34 S 40th St)

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“Batman, Superman—Prometheus?” Museum Signing on Wednesday 10/28!

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Join The Philadelphia Museum of Art for a panel discussion and book signing in celebration of Prometheus Eternal, the Museum’s first comic book, as inspired by the Rubens masterpiece Prometheus Bound and part of the Museum’s fall exhibition, The Wrath of the Gods: Masterpieces by Rubens, Michelangelo, and Titian. Artists Bill Seinkiewicz, Yuko Shimizu, and David Mack will be joined by Josh O’Neill, publisher of Locust Moon Press to discuss the collaboration and how Prometheus Bound inspired this contemporary re-telling of the ancient myth.yuko CU

Copies of Prometheus Eternal will be available for purchase and signing. This talk is moderated by Christopher Atkins, The Agnes and Jack Mulroney Associate Curator of European Painting and Sculpture before 1900.

Wednesday, October 28
6:30pm – 8:45pm
Lenfest Hall (West Entrance)
$10 ($8 members)

Facebook event

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good this week

Chris is out of the game this week, but I didn’t want to let these books go un-called-out…

DARK HORSE PRESENTS VOL 3 #1: The grand old lady of comics anthologies is back in new & improved form. And what better way to kick things off than with a new Big Guy and Rusty story from Geof Darrow? Throw in some new Kabuki from David Mack and a color Sabertooth Swordsman tale from Gentry, Conley, and Bergin (among other fun stories), and yeah, this one’s a winner.

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MS. MARVEL #7: G. Willow Wilson’s truly, deeply modern-day-superhero series continues to be a blast of fresh air and new thinking on an old formula. This is the second and last (for now) issue with charming guest art by Jacob Wyatt, who I hope we’ll see back the next time Alphona needs a break. Ian Herring deserves mention for keeping the book’s colors looking consistently great (and greatly consistent).

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THE MULTIVERSITY #1: You were gonna read it anyways. Take the ride.

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LITTLE NEMO: RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND #1: The other loving, modern tribute to McCay’s world — this one in monthly, rationally sized form. I was wondering how McCay’s sleep-wake cycle would translate from single-page broadsheet strips to a 20-page comic, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Shanower & Rodriguez maintain a brisk forward momentum through dreamtime that I hope continues through the story’s end, and Rodriguez’s cityscapes — not to mention cloudscapes — really shine. Bravo, guys!

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DAREDEVIL #7: Mark Waid & Javier Rodriguez made me cry. With this issue and the last, the DD team somehow managed to use Marvel’s “Original Sin” framework to craft one of their best stories in an already incredible, landmark run (on a character whose history automatically sets a high bar).

daredevil7– Andrew Carl

 

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The Locust Moon Top 40: March 2014

40. DESTINO

This is what it looks like when Walt Disney and Salvador Dali sort of collaborate. Sure makes you wonder what could have come of a deeper partnership.

39. BASEWOOD

Another delicious fruit of the Kickstarter era. Never before would a work as personal and idiosyncratic as Alec Longstreth’s BASEWOOD have seen publication in such a beautifully produced oversized edition, a handsomely made book containing a flawlessly cartooned story of loss, survival and connection.

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38. GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

OK, so none of us have actually gotten around to seeing it yet. But we’re so happy to have more Wes Anderson in the world that we’re listing it anyway.

37. MONSTERS & TITANS – the BATTLING BOY art book

Finally, we can see BATTLING BOY artwork the way it deserves to be seen: BIG.

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36. This Terrifying Short Film

Watch if you’re sick of sleeping, and would prefer never to do it again.

35. New Wu Tang Album

They are pressing one single copy of their new double album, which will be sold to the highest bidder. Something tells me we won’t end up finding this one for $3 in the bargain bin of the Princeton Record Exchange, like we did with 36 Chambers in 1997.

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Continue reading →

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LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM update

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JH WILLIAMS III

there are a few artists that the book would feel incomplete without, and jh williams III is one of them. we are incredibly happy to have him come on-board, and as excited as can be to see what he does with the grand, 16×21 format.

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DAVID MACK

david has created one of the great works in comics with his KABUKI series, a constantly challenging book that engages and communicates with its readers and dives into the deep end of issues of identity, loss, and reinvention.

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GEORGE PRATT

one of the finest painters in comics, we are eagerly anticipating seeing george wield his brush in slumberland.

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–chris stevens

We’re keeping this list of Nemo names updated with most of the contributors we have publicly announced – so check it out if you’re wondering who else has signed up! And our first revealed pages from the book can be found here.